G&A's 2015 list of best gun owner states

I object strongly to Alaska not being #1. I am not aware of ANY state barriers to gun ownership. What more can we do?

Get rid of having to notify the LEO upon official contact, one of only 9 states, & having to notify the homeowner that you are carrying before entry to their domicile, one of only 4 states.

That will help for starters.

Re: Hawaii, ammo is also difficult to obtain locally. My son lives there, and I'm not permitted to mail him any, nor is he permitted to buy any online.

FAA regs do permit ammo in your checked luggage, guess what I bring when I go there?

Nice outdoor range though just outside Honolulu at the base of Koko Head.

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Not being to mail ammo may be due to haz-mat shipping restrictions rather then state law. I have the same problem here as most cargo comes/goes by air.

2ifbyC said:

I currently live in AZ and love the old West tradition regarding guns. There is no requirement to carry a firearm concealed but I believe any responsible gun owner should seek training. Plenty of places to shoot including ranges, national forests and BLM land. Gun shops are plentiful and gun shows are frequent.
Recently I was 4-wheeling on the old gold mining trails and came across a one horse town of Cleator; the only thing there was a bar. I bought a beer and sat on the patio with a scruffy bunch of locals who had six guns holstered on their waist. It brought a smile to my face.

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I'm in Az, too, & always enjoy seeing open carry, & the distinct lack of crime in small towns. Too many people CC, with or without permits. When my FFL asks me if i have a CC permit, i always say, 'Just the constitution.. it has worked for me so far..' He'll chuckle, & call it in.

IMO, the laws in Az should be nationwide. They are what the US constitution intended. There are too many 'infringements' in some states. I sometimes carry in Utah, when visiting my daughter, & realize i'm breaking the law. How can that be? I'm still in America, & still have the 2nd amendment, don't i? Why do i need a carry permit if i'm in another state? The slow whittling away of the constitution is at the heart of our problems, & not just the 2nd amendment. The other 9 in the bill of rights are in jeopardy, too.

I was really surprised at Ohio's ranking when compared to Michigan. I think their list is flawed. The pistol permit is still required if you purchase a firearm from anyone other than an FFL if you don't have a CCW. Ohio has no such requirement.

I did notice that there was a far greater number of states that were friendly toward gun owners than those who are not. Of course you have the usual players, but there were far fewer states who have pushed for further regulation than those who have rolled back laws or who have strengthened pro second amendment legislation. All of this despite the President and his peanut gallery screaming for further regulation that they now call "common" sense which implies if you don't support them, you don't have common sense.

florida could be changing. all legislative boundaries being re-worked. high possibility of anti-2nd amendment majority next election.

IL is @ 43 and the facts aren't quite right. SBR's are in fact allowed and unlike higher ranked Colorado there is not a standard cap mag ban. Outsiders to IL make much of the FOID, but in fact all it is is a form and 10 bucks to get one and its existence has kept the private-sale naysayers in check as an online anonymous FOID check has made private sales less arguable for the anti's. We've made so much progress in the last 10 years, we've got plenty to crow about and we keep beating back the anti's like crazy. So we aren't Indiana, but we're working on it.

Seems a generally well presented listing.

I see it as calmly thought out and presented though I know a great many will argue based upon insider suffering in their respective states. From an outsider point of view it seems about as accurate as one would hope for given the nature of the offering and number of particulars taken into account.

Still, I can't help but feel it represents a wonderful "hit-list" for THEM to use in a general strategic sense and a more tactical list for particular targeting.

All in all, I'd rather they'd not compiled and published it.

Todd.

I would say folks ought to look at the various state laws themselves and disregard the G&A list as it really is of little use.
I find this a much more useful resource http://www.handgunlaw.us/ having a permit of even Constitutional Carry is of little use if it won't allow you to have the gun where you want/need it.

That is right. A handgun does not do people any good if they have to leave a handgun in a vehicle half the time because of state law not allowing carrying in certain locations.

Lord Teapot said:

Florida could be changing. all legislative boundaries being re-worked. high possibility of anti-2nd amendment majority next election.

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Even with some boundary changes, the Democrats will still be in the mass minority.
Rest easy,Lord T!

Guns & Ammo seems to have had some issues with whomever did the research for its list. Many factual errors, some egregious can be spotted in the little blurb accompanying each state's ranking (as a much earlier poster from my state pointed out).

I-594's passage notwithstanding, to have non-open carry states ranked much higher than Washington is rather a joke in itself, especially considering the legal penalties in a couple of those states for even accidently revealing your "concealed" handgun.

G&A's bogus rankings are rather a joke.

Hawaii has screwy gun laws for sure, but I often run into gun owners on the Big Island...many who have the black variety.

Odd method of ranking...

ME is one of only 5 states that have "Constitutional Carry". It also has shall issue, open carry and allows NFA and EBRs, yet get's ranked #29... mostly for not having the best reciprocity?

I suggest we do our own ranking. The most pluses gets the # 1 spot, each plus gets 10 points. Each negative gets -10 points.

+10 Category Points
Permitless Concealed carry
Open Carry
Open Carry without permit
Open Carry in car without permit
All NFA Allowed
Sheriff NFA Sign Off
Strong Self Defense Laws
No Permits To Purchase
No AWB
Protection from Confiscation During an Emergency
No Hand Gun Roster
State Preemption
Very Few Places that Prohibit Carry
No Fees for NICS
No Duty to inform
Carry license also covers knives, brass knuckles, martial arts defense.
OK to carry in business vehicles
OK to Carry rifle uncased in vehicle
OK to carry rifle loaded in vehicle
OK to have carry weapon in car at business parking lot
College or school carry


-10 Category Points
Discretionary Non Issue Carry Permits Statewide > NJ, MD and HI
Limited or No Reciprocity of carry permits
Carry Permit requires separate qualification for each handgun caliber or type
Permit to Purchase Long Arms
Permit to Purchase Handguns
Permit needed to Purchase Ammo
No online sales of Ammo
NFA Prohibition
NFA Prohibition of some items
NFA Prohibition of some items but NFA sign off nearly impossible
Waiting Period Long Arms
Waiting Period Handguns
One Handgun a Month Limit
Handgun Registration
Long Gun Registration
Safety course required before purchasing or permit to purchase
State NICS Fees
Limited State NICS Hours
State NICS Closed Sunday and State Holidays
Excessive Fees for Permit to Acquire Handgun > New York City
Excessive Carry Permit Fees
References needed to get permit to purchase long guns
References needed to get permit to purchase handguns
References needed to get carry permit
Handgun Roster
Airguns and Black Powder Guns considered firearms (Permit to Purchase needed)
No State Preemption every town or city can have different firearms laws
No Protection from Confiscation During an Emergency
Weak Self Defense Laws
Many Off Limits Places for Carrying
"Assault Weapons Ban" of some type
Submitting each handgun to state for ballistics testing
Limited transport laws
Separate Ammunition storage in vehicle
Duty to inform
Not OK to carry in business vehicles
Not OK to Carry rifle uncased in vehicle
Not OK to carry rifle loaded in vehicle
Not OK to have carry weapon in car at business parking lot
No college or school carry


I think we can narrow down the 50 states better using the criteria above. I think NJ would rank # 50 and Hawaii # 49. Even their laws are almost similar, I think NJ is worse in many ways. NJ, MD and HI all have discretionary non issue carry permits.

While Illinois has 3 day waiting period for a handgun and 1 day for a rifle, they have no additional permits to acquire other than the FIOD. Rhode Island maybe worse in that respect because they have a seven day waiting period for both long guns and handguns.
While Massachusetts also has a FID scheme, but they also have the hand gun roster. IL and MA have carry permits, in RI it is a 50/50 chance. Using this criteria, Illinois is better and more gun friendlier than Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

If New York City was a state, it would rank worse than NJ because of the transport laws, higher fees, more paperwork and longer time to acquire a just a premises only handgun license. And long guns are also registered and must be renewed.

There are a lot of variables here to consider, but interesting nonetheless to start our own ranking based on all or some of the above.
.

Edit: I edited the above to add more category points

I'd also add permitless concealed carry in vehicle or business.
Public school, college carry (different degrees from parking lot/vehicle to full on concealed in classroom).
Parking lot vehicle carry and storage.
Duty to inform.
Uncased/ loaded long guns (magazine or chamber)
Non permited storage transport laws including ammunition

To me it's about the freedom to carry on and do as I please if I am not harming someone else, many states have a facade of freedom but it is based on some document that they issue and rules that are so convoluted they are clearly designed to obstruct or entrap.

MedWheeler said:

I agree with Sequins above the NYC and NYS should be considered as separate entities. They pretty much are, anyway.

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NYC is different from the entire country...